Born: January 14, 1968 - Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, USA 
LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith on January 14, 1968 in Bay Shore, Long Island to James and Ondrea Smith. Todd, as he was called, did not have a very happy childhood. At the young age of four, he saw his mother and grandfather suffering from gunshot wounds caused by his own father. After his grandfather and mother finally recovered from the injuries, Todd's mother began to date a young physical therapist she met while in the hospital. The therapist treated Ondrea kindly, but his true nature was revealed to Todd. For years, this man physically and verbally abused Todd. This caused Todd to be a bully himself. In fact, it was during this time that Todd started wearing hats all the time (one of LL Cool J's trademarks is the fact that people never see him without a hat on). Fortunately, Ondrea finally learned of Todd's abuse and she left him. As Todd grew older, he found a way to escape the effects of his abuse and his bullying attitude: rap music. Todd fell in love with rap music at the age of nine, and at the age of eleven, he was writing lyrics and making his own songs with some DJ equipment his grandfather gave him. At the age of fifteen, Todd and one of his best friends came up with his present stage name, LL Cool J, which is an acronym for "Ladies Love Cool James." In 1984, when LL was sixteen, he met a man named Rick Rubin, a student at NYU, who gave him his big break in music. Rick really liked LL's music, and he decided to try to get him a record deal. Together, they made the single, "I Need a Beat," and sent to a record manager named Russell Simmons. Russell loved the single, and in 1985, Rick and Russell created the infamous Def Jam record company, and LL's album was the first to be released from that company. Even today, LL is considered one of Def Jam's most prized possessions. LL's first album, "Radio," was released in 1985, and this was also the year LL started his acting career. LL first starred in the movie "Krush Groove," which is a semi-biographical account of Russell Simmons' career. LL had a cameo appearance in the film, and he was also used as an extra. In 1986, LL also had a cameo appearance in the movie "Wildcats," and he made the theme song for that movie. After that, LL took a small break from film and concentrated more on his first love, his music. LL's music career took off, and after every single one of his albums hit platinum selling status, he was (and still is) regarded as one of the greatest hip hop artists of all time. After a few years, he had small roles in a few other films, but he was still better known for his music. All this changed in 1995. By this time, LL was a happily married 27 year old man with three children. His first starring role, which was in the movie "Out of Sync," had also been released. This movie didn't do very well at the box office, but it made the producers at NBC very interested in giving LL a role in a sitcom they wanted to air. This sitcom was "In the House," which truly showed LL's acting ability. The show stayed on the air from 1995 to 1999. Between and after the time of the sitcom, LL was offered many film roles. His big break in film came in 1998, when he was in the movie "Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later." After this film, LL was given bigger and better film roles, and he has acted alongside actors such as Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Woods, Al Pacino, Omar Epps, Pam Grier, Stanley Tucci, and Dennis Quaid, to name a few. In 2000, LL was finally rewarded for his acting talents. That year, he won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the best supporting actor in an action film (the film was "Deep Blue Sea"). Even though LL's career in film has taken off, he hasn't forgotten his love for rap music. In 1998, he was planning to retire from rap and just concentrate on his film career, but he later decided to keep pursing both talents. Today, LL is not only known as one of the greatest rappers of all time, but he is also known as a great actor.
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